Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics

· Major League Baseball

Detroit Tigers

72-71, 37-37 Away

Final
2 - 1

Oakland Athletics

62-81, 36-38 Home

Brant Hurter helps the Tigers move back over .500 with a 2-1 victory over the Athletics

Detroit moved back over .500 after losing three of its previous four games. The Tigers (72-71) haven't had a winning season since they went 86-75 in 2016.

Looking to rally in the race for the third AL wild card, Detroit bounced back nicely after losing 7-6 to Oakland in 13 innings on Friday night.

“Our vibe, our energy is excellent — after wins, after losses, after walk-offs, after tough games, maybe even games we don’t play well,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “If you get in that mode of resetting over 162 (games), it’s going to pay off, and games like last night are key when we already know we’re going to show up in the ballpark ready to play the next day.”

Hurter (4-1) entered after Brenan Hanifee got the first two outs as an opener. Hurter allowed four hits, struck out three and walked one.

The 26-year-old left-hander, who has made one start in his first seven major league appearances this year, is settling into a bulk relief role.

“Just going out there and having multiple innings has gotten me more comfortable, and then when I start, it really doesn’t affect me,” Hurter said.

Oakland (62-81) lost for the third time in four games. The A's wasted a sharp performance by Brady Basso, who struck out six while pitching six innings of three-hit ball.

After Basso departed, the Tigers loaded the bases with none out in the seventh — helped by an error on second baseman Zack Gelof. Dillon Dingler drove in Colt Keith with a fielder's choice grounder against T.J. McFarland (2-2), and Parker Meadows made it 2-1 with a sacrifice fly.

A's manager Mark Kotsay said that they had been set up to go to their high-leverage relievers in the bullpen with a late lead.

“Had we played better defense in the seventh, I think we win this game 1-0,” Kotsay said.

Ricky Vanasco worked the seventh for Detroit, and Sean Guenther pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings. Jason Foley got two outs for his 21st save.

Oakland jumped in front in the fifth. Gelof singled, stole second and advanced to third on Nick Allen's flyout to center. Kyle McCann followed with an RBI single.

Basso threw 85 pitches, 56 for strikes, in his first major league start. The 26-year-old left-hander had made three prior relief appearances for the A’s this season.

“I thought the kid did a great job," Kotsay said. “It was impressive. ... Just an incredible job by a young man, really poised on the mound, really impressive day.”

Basso said getting to start a major league game was a “dream come true,” and he felt like he gave the team a chance to win.

“As a little kid, all you want to do is pitch in the big leagues and I was able to do that,” Basso said. “It was awesome. It was really fun.”

The A’s, who will play their games in Sacramento next season ahead of a planned move to Las Vegas in 2028, drew 14,694 fans. They are playing in their final series of their penultimate homestand.

Oakland’s Lawrence Butler doubled in the third to extend his career-best hit streak to 17 games.

RHP J.T. Ginn (0-0, 4.30 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale for the A’s. The Tigers have not yet announced a starter.

How can I watch Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics?

TV Channel: Tigers at Athletics 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Athletics: 51.3%

Tigers: 48.7%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Gelof struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Cameron grounded into fielder's choice to third, Wilson out at second.
	9th Inning	Wilson ran for Nevin
	9th Inning	Nevin singled to left.
	9th Inning	Foley relieved Guenther
	9th Inning	Nevin hit for Gray

Statistics

DET		OAK
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
7	Ground Balls	14
10	Strikeouts	6
2	Runs Batted In	1
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
5	Hits	6
3	Stolen Bases	1
4	Walks	1
0	Catcher Interference	0
2	Runs	1
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
1	Sacrifice Flies	0
32	At Bats	33
0	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
20	Runners Left On Base	12
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
2	Doubles	1
16	Fly Balls	13
0	Caught Stealing	0
152	Pitches	113
0	Games Started	0
1	Pinch At Bats	3
0	Pinch Hits	1
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	1
7	Total Bases	7
37	Plate Appearances	34
0.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
2	Extra Base Hits	1
2.3	Runs Created	0.8
.156	Batting Average	.182
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.333
.219	Slugging Percentage	.212
.281	Secondary Average	.091
.243	On Base Percentage	.206
.462	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.418
0.4	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.1
2.2	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	0.8
20.0	Batter Rating	13.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
1.00	Stolen Base Percentage	1.00
4.11	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.32
.063	Isolated Power	.030
0.40	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.17
.108	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.029
.125	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.091
4.0	Runs Produced	2.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.3	Patience Ratio	0.2
0.2	Balls In Play Average	0.2
67.8	MLB Rating	66.3
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0